Bob Dylan

Induction Year: 2002

Birth Name: Robert Allen Zimmerman

Birth Date: 05-24-1941

Place of Birth: Duluth, Minnesota

Bob Dylan — the legendary singer-songwriter who elevated the craft of songwriting by melding visionary lyric poetry with sturdy, unforgettable folk-style melodies — grew up in the mining town of Hibbing, Minnesota. During his six months as a freshman student at the University of Minnesota, he began singing in coffeehouses and changed his name to Bob Dylan. He traveled to New Jersey to meet one of his folk songwriting idols, Woody Guthrie.

After singing in the folk clubs of Greenwich Village in Manhattan, Dylan was discovered by Columbia Records talent scout John Hammond. Dylan's first LP appeared in 1961. Peter, Paul & Mary began to popularize his songs in 1963.

Dylan's four key albums of the mid-1960s were Another Side of Bob Dylan (1964), Highway 61 Revisited (1965), Bringing It All Back Home (1965) and Blonde on Blonde (1966). These found him adding rock-music textures to his sound, and he began to have hit singles on the pop charts.

In 1966, Bob Dylan had a nearly fatal motorcycle accident and dropped out of the public eye. When he reemerged on disc, he adopted a country-influenced style. In the 1970s, he began collaborating with the Band both in concert and on records. He also formed his highly successful Rolling Thunder Revue multi-artist touring troupe.

Around 1979 and on into the early 1980s, Dylan embraced Christianity and began releasing albums and songs reflecting that. By the mid 1980s, he had returned to his Jewish roots.

In the late 1980s, he became a member of the supergroup called the Traveling Wilburys, alongside George Harrison, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne and Roy Orbison. Dylan continued to tour and record into the new millennium.

From the outset of his career, Dylan's songs were recorded by Nashville stars such as Johnny Cash, Bobby Bare and Waylon Jennings. "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight," "It Ain't Me Babe," "To Make You Feel My Love" and "You Ain't Going Nowhere" were all country smash hits penned by Dylan.

In addition, he brought international prominence to Nashville as a recording center by cutting his Blonde on Blonde, John Wesley Harding, Nashville Skyline and Self Portrait LPs in Music City.

He is easily one of the most influential songwriters of all time, regardless of genre. Dylan was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1991. He published a critically acclaimed autobiography, Chronicles: Volume One, in 2004.

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Song Catalog

 

"A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall"

The Staple Singers1964 
Joan Baez1965 
Pete Seeger1965 
Leon Russell1971 
Bryan Ferry1973 
Melanie1993 

"All Along the Watchtower"

The Nashville Teens1964 
Jimi Hendrix1968 #20 pop
Brewer & Shipley1969 
Bobby Womack1973 
Dave Mason1974 
Spirit1977 
Jerry Garcia1987 
Richie Havens1987 
The Indigo Girls1990 
John Mellencamp1992 
The Dave Matthews Band1994 
The Grateful Dead1996 
Taj Mahal2000 
Bryan Ferry2007 
 

"All I Really Want to Do"

Cher1965 #15 pop
Duane Eddy1965 
The Four Seasons1965 
The Byrds1965 #40 pop
Glen Campbell1966 
The Hollies1969 
World Party1987 

"Blowin' in the Wind"

Peter, Paul & Mary1963 #2 pop
Bobby Darin1963 
The Kingston Trio1963 
Eddy Arnold1964 
The Browns1964 
Glen Campbell1964 
Duke Ellington1964 
The Seekers1964 
Bobby Bare1965 
Chet Atkins1965 
Duane Eddy1965 
Pete Seeger1965 
Cher1965 
Marianne Faithfull1965 
The Four Seasons1965 
Johnny Rivers1965 
Stevie Wonder1966 #9 pop
Flatt & Scruggs1967 
Dionne Warwick1967 
Dave Dudley1969 
The Hollies1969 
The Supremes1969 
Lena Horne1977 
Neil Young1991 
Etta James1995 
The Hooters1997 
Janie Fricke1999 
Dolly Parton2005 
Mountain2007 
 

"Don’t Think Twice It’s All Right"

Peter, Paul & Mary1963 #9 pop
Joan Baez1963 
Jackie DeShannon1963 
Jose Feliciano1964 
Johnny Cash1964 
Bobby Bare1965 
Chad & Jeremy1965 
The Wonder Who1965 #12 pop
Duane Eddy1965 
Bobby Goldsboro1966 
Flatt & Scruggs1967 
The Stonemans1968 
Waylon Jennings1969 
Brook Benton1970 
Jerry Reed1971 
Stone the Crows1971 
Booker T. & Priscilla1972 
Elvis Presley1973 
Doc & Merle Watson1978  #88 country
Steve Young1978  
John Anderson1982 
Eric Clapton1993 
The Indigo Girls1995 
Glen Campbell2005 
Susan Tedeschi2005 
Randy Travis2008 
 

"Forever Young"

Bob Dylan1974 
Kitty Wells1974 
Bonnie Bramlett1976 
Joan Baez1976 
The Band1978 
Diana Ross1984 
Johnny Cash1994 
The Pretenders1994 
George Hamilton IV1996 
Tim O'Brien1996 
Meat Loaf2003 
 

"Girl From the North Country"

Hamilton Camp1964 
Waylon Jennings1965 
Boz Scaggs1965 
The Stonemans1966 
The Country Gentlemen1966 
Johnny Cash & Bob Dylan1969 
Joe Cocker1970 
Flatt & Scruggs1970 
Rod Stewart1974 
Tony Rice1993 
Fairport Convention1995 
Sam Bush2000 
Wylie & the Wild West2001 
 

"Gotta Serve Somebody"

Bob Dylan1979 #24 pop
David Allan Coe1983 
Luther Ingram1986 
Judy Collins1993 
Booker T. & the MGs1994 
Pop Staples1994 
Mavis Staples1999 
Etta James2000 
Nona Hendryx2001 
Shirley Caesar2003 
Aaron Neville2003 
Willie Nelson2008 
 

"I Shall Be Released"

The Band1968 
Joan Baez1968 
The Tremeloes1968 
The Box Tops1969 #67 pop
Joe Cocker1969 
Nina Simone1969 
The Hollies1969 
Rick Nelson1970 
The Youngbloods1972 
Bette Midler1973 
The Earl Scruggs Revue1974 
Jerry Garcia1991 
Aaron Neville2000 
Jeff Buckley2003 
 

"I'll Be Your Baby Tonight"

Emmylou Harris1968 
Linda Ronstadt1969 
Ray Stevens1969 
Jose Feliciano1969 
Flatt & Scruggs1969 
The Hollies1969 
Hank Williams Jr.1969 
Anne Murray1970 
Gary Scruggs1970 
Ramblin' Jack Elliott1970 
Claude King1970 #33 country
Bobby Darin1971 
Georgie Fame1971 
The Statler Brothers1972 
Rita Coolidge1972 
Tracy Nelson1975 
Ray Price1977 
Marianne Faithfull1978 
Judy Rodman1987 #5 country
Maria Muldaur1989 
Kris Kristofferson1993 
Bernadette Peters1996 
The Bellamy Brothers1998 
Gail Davies2001 
Norah Jones2003 
 

"I'll Keep It with Mine"

Judy Collins1965 
Nico1967 
Fairport Convention1969 
Marianne Faithfull1987 
Richard Thompson1994 
Greg Trooper1998 
 

"If Not for You"

George Harrison1970 
Anita Kerr1970 
Olivia Newton John1971 #25 pop
Astrud Gilberto1972 
Glen Campbell1973 
Bobby Wright1973 #75 country
Richie Havens1987 
Rod Stewart2006 
Bryan Ferry2007 
Phil Keaggy2007 
 

"It Ain't Me Babe"

Joan Baez1964 
Johnny Cash & June Carter1965 #4 country, #58 pop
Waylon Jennings1965 
Duane Eddy1965 
The Turtles1965 #8 pop
Bobby Bare1966 
Glen Campbell1966 
Jan & Dean1966 
Nancy Sinatra1966 
Flatt & Scruggs1967 
Gail Davies2001 
 

"It's All Over Now Baby Blue"

Joan Baez1965 
Them1966 
The Byrds1969 
Manfred Mann1972 
The Animals1977 
Marianne Faithfull1984 
Richie Havens1987 
Grateful Dead1997 
Bonnie Raitt2000 
Bryan Ferry2002 
Robyn Hitchcock2002 
Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs2006 
 

"Just Like a Woman"

Bob Dylan1966 #33 pop
Manfred Mann1966 
The Hollies1969 
Area Code 6151969 
Joe Cocker1969 
Roberta Flack1970 
Rick Nelson1971 
The Byrds1971 
Nina Simone1971 
Rod Stewart1981 
Richie Havens1987 
John Waite1997 
Bill Medley2007 
 

"Knockin' on Heaven's Door"

Bob Dylan1973 #12 pop
Roger McGuinn1975 
Booker T. Jones1978 
Joe Sun1980 
Elvis Costello1981 
Jerry Garcia1982 
Eric Clapton1984 
The Alarm1985 
Sandy Denny1986 
Randy Crawford1987 
Guns 'N' Roses1990 
The Outlaws1995 
Ladysmith Black Mambazo1997 
Wyclef Jean2002 
David Sanborn2002 
Warren Zevon2002 
Cat Power2004 
Babyface Edmunds2007 
Bryan Ferry2007 
Kevin Coyne2008 

"Lay Lady Lay"

Bob Dylan1969 #7 pop
The Byrds1969 
Ferrante & Teicher1970 #99 pop
Ben E. King1970 
Melanie1971 
The Isley Brothers1971 #71 pop
Jose Feliciano1972 
Hoyt Axton1976 
The Everly Brothers1984 
Richie Havens1987 
Jim Bean1988 #96 country
Albert Lee1991 
Duran Duran1995 
Ramblin' Jack Elliott1995 
Isaac Hayes1999 
Neil Diamond2003 
Deana Carter2007 
Maria Muldaur2008 

"Like a Rolling Stone"

Bob Dylan1965 #2 pop
Billy Strange1965 
The Turtles1965 
The Four Seasons1965 
Glen Campbell1966 
Cher1966 
The Young Rascals1966 
Jimi Hendrix1967 
Flatt & Scruggs1968 #58 country
Spirit1976 
Johnny Winter1980 
John Mellencamp1993 
The Rolling Stones1995 
Charlie Daniels2007 
 

"Maggie's Farm"

Bob Dylan1965 
Richie Havens1968 
Flatt & Scruggs1970 
Booker T. & Priscilla1972 
The Specials1980 
Solomon Burke1984 
Hot Tuna1992 
U21993 
The Grateful Dead1994 
Tim O'Brien1996 
David Bowie1997 
David Grisman1999 
Rage Against the Machine2001 
Charlie Daniels2007 
 

"Mr. Tambourine Man"

Judy Collins1964 
Odetta1965 
The Byrds1965 #1 pop
Johnny Rivers1965 
Duane Eddy1965 
Chad & Jeremy1965 
Dino, Desi & Billy1965 
The Four Seasons1965 
The Beau Brummels1966 
Stevie Wonder1966 
Glen Campbell1966 
Flatt & Scruggs1967 
Melanie1968 
Gene Clark1987 
Crowded House1992 
 

"My Back Pages"

The Byrds1967 #30 pop
The Hollies1969 
The Nice1971 
The Ramones1993 
Joan Osborne2000 
Steve Earle2002 
 

"One Too Many Mornings"

Joan Baez1968 
Johnny Cash1969 
The Dillards1969 
The Kingston Trio1969 
Flatt & Scruggs1970 
Ronnie Hawkins1970 
The Association1970 
Jerry Jeff Walker1977 
The Beau Brummels1980 
Dion1992 
The Band1999 
Phoebe Snow2003 
 

"Tears of Rage"

The Band1968 
Joan Baez1968 
Ian & Sylvia1969 
Gene Clark1971 
Albert Lee1991 
Jerry Garcia1997 
 

"The Mighty Quinn"

Manfred Mann1968 #10 pop
Ian & Sylvia1968 
Gary Puckett1968 
The Ventures1968 
Ramsey Lewis1968 
1910 Fruitgum Company1968 
The Hollies1969 
Julie London1969 
Lulu1970 
String Cheese Incident2002 
Bruce Hornsby2005 
 

"The Times They Are A-Changing"

Bob Dylan1964 
Simon & Garfunkel1964 
The Byrds1965 
Odetta1965 
Peter, Paul & Mary1965 
The Seekers1965 
The Beach Boys1965 
Cher1968 
Flatt & Scruggs1968 
The Hollies1969 
Nina Simone1969 
Judy Collins1975 
James Taylor1979 
Richie Havens1987 
Keb' Mo'2004 
Mountain2007 
The Del McCoury Band2007 

"To Make You Feel My Love"

Billy Joel1997 #50 pop
Trisha Yearwood1998 
Garth Brooks1998 #1 country
Mary Black2005 
 

"Tomorrow Is a Long Time"

Ian & Sylvia1964 
The Brothers Four1964 
Hamilton Camp1964 
Odetta1965 
Judy Collins1965 
Elvis Presley1966 
The Pozo-Seco Singers1966 
Dion1968 
The Kingston Trio1969 
Rod Stewart1971 
Sandy Denny1972 
Earl Scruggs1976 
Chris Hillman1982 
Fairport Convention1986 
Nickel Creek2005 
The Seldom Scene2007 
 

"Tonight I'll Be Staying Here with You"

Rick Nelson1969 
Cher1969 
Bob Dylan1969 #50 pop
Ben E. King1970 
Esther Phillips1970 
The Jeff Beck Group1972 
Albert Lee1991 
Pat McLaughlin1996 
Gail Davies1999 
Ann Peebles2005 
Happy Traum2005 
 

"When I Paint My Masterpiece"

The Band1971 
Tim O'Brien1993 
The Grateful Dead1996 
Emmylou Harris1996 
Josh Turner2007 
 

"You Ain't Going Nowhere"

The Byrds1968 #74 pop
Joan Baez1968 
Flatt & Scruggs1968 
Flying Burrito Brothers1985 
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band1989 #6 country
Mary Chapin Carpenter1993 
Gene Parsons2001 
Fairport Convention2002 
Counting Crows2002 
Doc Watson2002 
Marty Raybon2006 

Other Media

Bob Dylan

Induction Year: 2002